Rechnungskauf für Schulen, Institutionen & Unternehmen: einfach im Shop „auf Rechnung“ bestellen oder hier Angebot anfordern.
Rechnungskauf für Schulen, Institutionen & Unternehmen: einfach im Shop „auf Rechnung“ bestellen oder hier Angebot anfordern.
Throughout Europe, the way schools are conceived and designed is changing. This change is particularly evident in Austria: the trend is moving away from rigid classrooms and frontal teaching towards open learning environments in which independence, movement, and cooperation shape everyday school life. Schools are evolving into living spaces where children learn independently, take responsibility, and actively help shape their learning environment.
The Chur model is an educational and didactic teaching and classroom concept from Switzerland. It was developed in the early 2000s in the municipal schools of Chur and has since stood for the shift from traditional classroom teaching to open, self-organized, and individually designed learning. This approach changes not only the learning process but also the design of the classroom. Instead of traditional row seating, flexible furniture, open learning zones, and workstations at different heights for lying, sitting, or standing are used.
While the Chur model is considered the blueprint for this development in Switzerland, Austria has developed its own concepts that share the same basic ideas: they all focus on openness, flexibility, and educational freedom—and thus on spaces that are allowed to change.
In recent years, Austria has undergone impressive developments in the field of school architecture. The traditional classroom is becoming increasingly less important. Instead, spaces are being created that view learning as a dynamic process – spaces that enable movement, promote exchange, and allow for concentration.
A key example of this is the so-called cluster model. Here, several classrooms are grouped around an open learning area – the so-called “marketplace.” Hallways become meeting zones, and work areas are created where there used to be passageways. This architecture symbolizes a change in attitude: learning should not be limited, but allowed to grow.
The Federal Real Estate Company (BIG) has now made this concept the standard for many new school buildings. Cluster schools can now be found in numerous cities – from Vienna to Graz to Innsbruck. They offer space for group work, retreat, presentation, and movement, thus creating the architectural foundation for a new learning culture.
In addition to the cluster model, more and more schools are turning to open learning landscapes or the learning house concept. Here, the focus is no longer on individual classrooms, but on entire learning areas with differently designed zones: work islands, quiet corners, communication, movement, and creative spaces. This diversity enables differentiation, self-organization, and teaching that responds to the needs of the children.
The Sonnwendviertel education campus in Vienna shows how this openness works – learning islands, presentation areas, and variable furniture turn the space into an educational tool.
The design of these rooms does not follow purely architectural logic, but rather educational logic. Teachers, architects, and educators work closely together to create spaces that support didactic concepts.
It becomes clear that the space itself becomes a learning partner. It can motivate, structure, and inspire. Children who are allowed to choose their workplace take responsibility for their learning. Movement becomes a natural part of the lesson. Instead of long periods of frontal teaching, there are short inputs followed by independent work phases. This development shows that education and architecture are inextricably linked. And this is exactly where Xbrick comes in.
Xbrick stands for movement, flexibility, and participation—three characteristics that fit perfectly with the learning culture that is increasingly being embraced in Austria. This lightweight, stackable piece of furniture can be changed in just a few simple steps and adapted to any learning situation. Whether as a seat, table, platform, or standing desk, Xbrick creates open spaces where rigid structures give way.
In schools that focus on open forms of learning, mobility plays a central role. Furniture must be quick to move, multifunctional, and robust. Xbrick meets precisely these requirements, becoming a tool with which students can design their own space.
It enables learning while sitting, standing, or moving, thus supporting an educational principle that is becoming increasingly established in Austria: learning is not a static state, but a process that arises through activity, freedom of choice, and self-organization.
A special feature of the Austrian education system is that there is no single, fixed spatial concept. Instead, there are several models that can be combined or interpreted individually. Some focus on quiet learning zones, others on communicative areas or movement areas. Xbrick supports all these variants because it is as versatile as the schools themselves.
In addition to spatial flexibility, Austria attaches great importance to innovation in terms of content. Particularly in the STEM field – science, technology, engineering, and mathematics – there are numerous programs that encourage schools to try out new forms of learning. Initiatives such as SEED, culture connected, and MINT-Schecks Tirol promote projects in which students experiment, conduct research, and work creatively. The STEM seal of approval schools show how modern pedagogy and flexible learning spaces can reinforce each other. International programs such as Erasmus+ also support the exchange of ideas and methods. Schools that adapt their spaces and try out new teaching concepts receive both conceptual and financial support.
Austria stands for diversity—and it is precisely this diversity that shapes its educational landscape. Whether cluster schools, learning houses, or open learning environments: spaces are emerging everywhere that allow movement, promote cooperation, and enable individual learning.
This development shows that modern schools are much more than just teaching in the traditional sense. They are living spaces where children grow, experiment, create, and take responsibility.
Xbrick supports this change because it makes the freedom of learning visible. It creates space where there were previously boundaries and inspires us to constantly rethink school—flexible, creative, and collaborative.
The future of learning is flexible, and it begins in spaces that allow for change. Austria impressively demonstrates how architecture, pedagogy, and furniture design can work together to create a new learning culture.
Throughout Austria—from urban education campuses to rural schools—learning environments are emerging that promote self-organization, motivation, and community. Xbrick is more than just a piece of furniture: it is a tool for a school that is evolving—in space, in thinking, and in learning.